Peerless Dragon and Snake

The dragon head atop the old man's staff was lifelike, its craftsmanship exquisite beyond compare.

The soul power fluctuations emanating from him were far more terrifying than the old woman's...

Eight soul rings pulsed slowly around his body.

Two yellow, three purple, three black—he was a peak powerhouse at the Soul Douluo level.

Just feeling the oppressive force of the old man's soul power made Lu Mingfei feel his own soul power trembling faintly within him.

A Soul Douluo-level powerhouse was an exceedingly rare existence across the entire Douluo Continent, yet one had appeared in Dragon Valley merely to stand guard for a young girl.

Standing beside Lu Mingfei, Huang Fei fixed her gaze on the elderly couple, her pupils contracting slightly.

She lowered her voice to an extreme, a rare gravity in her tone. "Dragon Duke Meng Shu and Serpent Grandmother Chao Tianxiang—the Peerless Dragon and Snake couple. This old pair is renowned throughout the world of soul masters. Their martial soul fusion skill, Dragon-Snake Strike, is said to let them challenge Title Douluos across ranks. That girl is their granddaughter."

Lu Mingfei's heart stirred.

He had seen the names of the Peerless Dragon and Snake couple in the appendix of Basic Knowledge of Soul Masters.

Though they had only been briefly mentioned, anyone included in a textbook compiled by Spirit Hall was no ordinary figure.

He looked again at the green-clad girl fiercely battling the Mandala Snake, and a name suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Meng Yiran.

If he remembered correctly, Meng Yiran was the granddaughter of the Peerless Dragon and Snake couple. She was quite talented and, in the future, would be someone capable of exchanging blows with Tang San.

But at this point in time, Meng Yiran should still have been at the stage of obtaining her second soul ring.

This Mandala Snake with dragon blood in its veins was clearly the target she had chosen for her second soul ring.

The battle at the center of the valley continued.

Meng Yiran and the Mandala Snake had already exchanged more than a dozen rounds.

The snake-headed staff in her hand stabbed, swept, and hooked in turn. With her waist as flexible as if boneless, she moved freely through the gaps in the giant snake's attacks.

But the Mandala Snake was enormous and its scales were tough. Though her Tongue Blade was sharp, it could never pierce the creature's most vital weak points.

As the battle wore on, the Mandala Snake grew increasingly enraged, and its attacks became faster and faster. Fine beads of sweat had already appeared on Meng Yiran's forehead.

"Yiran, use the throwing knives!" Serpent Grandmother Chao Tianxiang suddenly called out, her voice calm and forceful.

Understanding at once, Meng Yiran feinted with her snake staff in her right hand, forcing back the Mandala Snake's bite. Her left hand brushed across her waist, and several throwing knives as thin as cicada wings appeared between her fingers.

With a flick of her wrist, the knives became several flashes of cold light and shot toward the Mandala Snake in a triangular formation. One targeted its eye, one its neck, and one the soft part of its belly...

The Mandala Snake let out a hiss and violently swung its head aside, avoiding the knife aimed at its eye. But the other two struck with perfect accuracy.

The knife aimed at its neck sank into a gap between its scales.

The knife aimed at its belly plunged in all the way to the hilt, and green venomous blood gushed from the wound.

The Mandala Snake let out a shrill hiss. Its massive body rolled and writhed madly across the ground, its tail sweeping out and smashing a millstone-sized boulder to pieces.

Seizing the chance, Meng Yiran charged forward. She raised her snake-headed staff high, blue light blazing from the Tongue Blade.

Aiming for the wound in the Mandala Snake's belly where the throwing knife had struck, she drove the Tongue Blade in like a venomous serpent shooting out its tongue.

The Mandala Snake's struggles abruptly ceased.

Its massive body stiffened for an instant.

Its golden vertical pupils slowly lost focus before it crashed heavily onto the ground, sending dust flying.

A bright yellow ring rose from the snake's corpse and slowly revolved.

The yellow soul ring was a few shades darker than the one Yu Tianjiao had absorbed earlier, and its aura was richer as well. It was clearly a soul ring of greater age, estimated at roughly seven hundred years.

Meng Yiran planted her snake-headed staff on the ground and gasped for breath.

Her little face was smudged with dust and blood, but her large brown eyes sparkled with the satisfaction and pride of a successful hunt.

She turned and gave Serpent Grandmother Chao Tianxiang a smug smile. Chao Tianxiang smiled and nodded back, her face full of affection.

"Sit cross-legged. Meditate. Absorb the soul ring."

Dragon Duke Meng Shu's voice was low and steady, carrying unquestionable authority.

Meng Yiran obediently sat cross-legged, resting her hands on her knees and closing her eyes.

The bright yellow soul ring slowly descended above her head, then transformed into a streak of light and entered her body.

Her brows furrowed slightly. Her breathing became deep and slow, while sweat continuously seeped from her forehead. Absorbing a seven-hundred-year soul ring was clearly no easy task for her.

But her foundation was indeed solid. After roughly half an hour, her complexion gradually calmed, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

She opened her eyes, rose to her feet, and exhaled a long breath of stale air.

"Release your soul rings and let's see."

Leaning on her staff, Serpent Grandmother Chao Tianxiang stepped forward.

Meng Yiran nodded. She struck the ground with her snake-headed staff, and soul power surged around her.

Two yellow soul rings appeared at once, pulsing above and below her. Their bright yellow radiance reflected off each other, making her look valiant and spirited.

Then, her body began to change...

In that instant, the flexibility of her waist and torso reached an unbelievable degree.

It was as though her entire body had lost its bones, twisting lightly in a way that defied the structure of the human body.

"Second soul skill, Serpent Form."

Meng Yiran's voice was full of excitement. "It makes my body as soft and agile as a snake's. I can dodge and attack in extremely confined spaces, and while in Serpent Form, my speed also increases by several degrees."

Serpent Grandmother Chao Tianxiang nodded in satisfaction and patted Meng Yiran on the shoulder. "Not bad. A seven-hundred-year Dragonblood Mandala Snake. This soul skill pairs extremely well with your first soul skill.

"The Tongue Blade is for offense, while Serpent Form is for evasion and mobility. It balances offense and defense. This trip to Dragon Valley was not in vain."

Meng Yiran giggled, withdrew her martial soul, and skipped over to Dragon Duke Meng Shu's side to act spoiled.

The girl who had been brimming with killing intent just moments ago had now completely turned into an ordinary teenage girl. Hugging her grandfather's arm and swaying it back and forth, she clamored about going home to eat something delicious.

Dragon Duke Meng Shu affectionately rubbed her head. His gaze seemed to sweep over the direction where Lu Mingfei and Huang Fei were hiding, but he said nothing.

Leaning on that four-meter-long dragon-headed staff, he led his granddaughter and the old woman out along the valley path. His steps were calm and unhurried, and they soon vanished into the mist.

Lu Mingfei poked his head out from behind the vines. Watching Meng Yiran's skipping retreating figure, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

Silently, he compared himself with the two people who had just obtained soul rings.

Yu Tianjiao was seven years old, level ten, and had absorbed a five-hundred-year soul ring.